Spanish Revolution Has Begun, "Arab Spring" Spreads to the West

Dubbed the “Spanish revolution”, the protest began with a march through Madrid on Sunday, led by young Spaniards angry at mass unemployment, austerity measures and political corruption.

It turned into a spontaneous sit-in on the square in Sol, which organisers say has now been mirrored in 57 other cities.

Spain’s prime minister Friday refused to be rushed into a crackdown on growing protests over unemployment as his Socialist Party braced for a crushing defeat in weekend local elections.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero even voiced sympathy with the “peaceful” demonstrations ahead of Sunday’s regional and municipal elections.

organisers of the spearhead protest in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol square called for a huge silent demonstration to begin in the early hours of Saturday, minutes after midnight.

“We are calling on everyone to gather in Puerta del Sol and carry out the ‘silent protest’ action,” one of the organising groups, “No nos vamos” (“We are not leaving”), said in an online statement.

Protesters would tie ribbons over their mouths and remove them at five minutes after midnight to mime a “silent shout” of unified protest, it said in the statement.

“We will stay in the square,” said Juan Lopez, a spokesman for another protest group “Toma la Plaza” (“Take the Square”).

“We respect the commission’s decision … but we have not called a demonstration, this is a movement of citizens.”

Zapatero said the protesters were reacting to unemployment and the economic crisis and were acting “in a peaceful manner.”

Spain’s jobless rate hit 21.19 percent in the first quarter of this year, the highest in the industrialised world. For under-25s, the jobless rate in February was 44.6 percent.

The camp in Sol has been growing every night, even spawning its own internet TV channel – soltv.tv – and dominating the local news coverage. But as it all emerged spontaneously, no-one is quite sure where it will lead.

Later on Friday, the protesters will discuss the electoral board’s ban on their action and take a formal decision on their response.

Individually though, they have already vowed to stay put – right in the middle of Madrid.

“For the moment, we’re staying here 24 hours a day,” says Juan Lopez. “We have to make sure our message is heard.”

Watch the action in Spain live via this video feed:

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